Jammu, May 31: Tourists are making a beeline to Bhaderwah Valley to escape the sweltering heat in the plains.
The place is fast emerging as one of the best tourist destinations. During May so far more than 1.5 lakh tourists have visited the valley also known as `Chota Kashmir’.
Since the Bhaderwah Development Authority (BDA) came into existence, the infrastructure of the place has improved a lot. At present BDA offers 70 rooms at Teligarh, Gatha Lake View Resort, Jai Valley, and different locations whereas 21 hotels have also come up in and around Bhaderwah town where tourists stay.
People also host tourists as paying guests and offer them the best possible service which has become a source of income for the locals.
According to the officials of BDA, major tourist attractions in Bhaderwah are Guldanda, Padri, Chattergala, Nalthi, Gatha Lake View, Jai Valley, Khellani top, Thanthera and Teligarh which provide scenic views to the tourists coming from outside.
“Since the start of May, more than 150,000 tourists have visited Bhaderwah and at present all the hotels and accommodations of BDA are booked. People from Jammu plains, neighboring Punjab, and national capital New Delhi are mostly visiting Bhaderwah whereas few tourists from Gujarat and other states have also arrived,” said an official of BDA.
“Many foreign tourists also visit here for adventure tourism and the Bhaderwah-Chamba circuit provides ample opportunities for them,” he added.
To ensure cleanliness at tourist places, BDA in collaboration with the Bhaderwah Municipal Committee organizes weekly sanitation drives in Padri, Chattergala, Thanthera, Guldanda, and Gatha Lake View Resort.
Bhaderwah town is situated around 200 kilometers from Jammu and the nearest airport is Jammu airport whereas the nearest railway station is at Udhampur, some 135 kilometers away. The surface connectivity is from National Highway 44 up to Nashri and one has to travel on NH244 (Batote-Kishtwar) up to Pul Doda. From Pul Doda onwards, Bhaderwah is just 30 kilometers away.
For any medical emergency, the Government Medical College Doda is at a distance of 35 kilometers from Doda town whereas sub-district hospital Bhaderwah also provides emergency healthcare facilities. (With KNO inputs).
